Isaac kendbick



1'. KENDRICK. .MACHINES FORIMELTING SNOW' AND ICE. No.1'84,528. l Patented Nov., 21,1876.

llTlllllmlllln Figa IM'PRovEM ENT in MACHFN ES Fo'R E'Li'iN'e fs New iNi rei-.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 184,628, dated November 21, 1876 application led February 19, 1876. 1

To all whom it may concern Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Machines for Melting Snow, or Ice;.y and I do hereby declare the following to be a i'ull, clear, and exact Adescription ot the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specilication, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective, partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinalfsec-v 'tion of the atomizer. Fig. 3 i's a transverse vertical section through the retort-burner.

My invention relates to an apparatus for -removing snow or ice from railW'ay-tracksor highways by the direct action of ame applied by a portable machine moving on wheels or runners. y

My improved machine consists of asuitable car, truck, or platform mounted on wheels or runners, having a boiler for generatingsteam, a water-tank, and oil-reservoir thereon, in combination with an apparatus for atomizi'ng, vaporizingfand burning petroleum, or its pro ducts, in a gaseous form.

In carrying my invention into effect, I em- -ploy a hollow or cham bered casting of iron or other metal, of any suitable form, preferably cylindrical, the walls of which are perforated with one or more inlet holes or openings, through which steam, oil, and air are admitted. The rear end of this chambered casting is closed by a screwplug or other device, through which an opening'is made, to the -nner extremity of which is fixed a short :pipe or nipple. Another nipple is fixed to the inner end of an opening through the side wall of the'chamber. Steam is admitted through the rst nipple, and liquid hydrocarbons through the other, said nipples being arranged at or about right angles to each other, with their outlets iuclose proximity, so that the steam will atomize and vaporize theliquid hydrocarbons. At the same time a current of air, preferably heated, isv 'drawn into the vapori'zing and 'atomizing chamber, and thoroughly commingled with the steam and hydrocarbon vaporstlrerein.

I alsoem ploy a distributing-retort and burner, 'Be it known that I, IsAAc KENDRIcK, of

consisting of a vessel or chamber of iron or other metal, preferably cylindrical in form,

perforated with drill-holes on its under or lower`\side, through which the commingled steam, hydrocarbons, and air are made to issue in a gaseous form at the point of conrbustion.

I further make use of 'a bottomless lcombustion-chamber, thewalls of which are constructed of castiron plates, boiler-iron, or other sheet metal, of any desired form, preferably rectangular. The front wall of this cham? ber maybe hinged. to the ceiling, forming a swinging door for easy access to the retort and burner. The end walls are perforated with small drill-holes for the admission of air to support combustion, and both said end walls and the' side walls are made to extend down nearly to the roadway, so that the dame fromvt'he retort-burner after direct action upon the snow or ice surface may be for some period of time confined Within said' chamber,

and utilized `as a melting medium. Said chamber is suspended beneath thecar or platform by means of iron rods secured or passing up loosely through the bottom of saidcar, so that said chamber may be raised or lowered when desired. Within this combustion-chamber is,

placed the combined retort and burner already mentioned.

The'high'ly-h'eated waste products of combastion may be, and in ypractice are, intended to beconveyed by a pipe from the rear end of the combustion-chamber to the fire-box of the boiler, and utilized for generating steam,

nipple N Iand air through inlet or inlets O. 'F

:is theretort-burner, and G represents .a pan,

. beneath the car-body. I is a pipe for conveying steamfrom the boiler (preferably superheated by passing it through the `lire-box) to the atomizer E. K K are valves for regulating the ow of the steam. P is a pipe through 'which oil is taken from the reservoir D to the atomizer E, the flow being governed byma cock, R. S is a pipe attached to the outlet of the atomizer, and through which, and branches s', the mixed oil, steam, and air, in a vaporic condition, are conveyed to the retort-burner. f' are drill-holes, through which the mixture issues in a gaseous form within the combustion-chamber. U is apipe, through which air, Lpreferably heated, so as to avoid condensation of the steam, is taken to the atomizer. Vis a pipe, through which the excess orsurplus steam from boiler B is conveyed to one or more roseheads, W. Y is a pipe, by which the highlyheated waste products of combustion are conducted from chamber T to the fire-box of the .boiler for generating steam.

The operation is as follows: A lire being started under the boiler, when steam of sucient pressure is generated, the valves K are opened for the passage of steam through pipe I and nipple M. The cock R. is then opened and oil admitted through pipe 'P and nipple .N,` and impinged and atomized by the steam entering through nipple M, and vaporized by the heat ofthe same in chamber L. At the same time a current ot' airis drawn in through pipe U and inlet O by the suction of the steam, and thoroughly mixed or commingled with the hydrocarbon vapors and steam, thus preparing it for purposes ot' fuel before reaching thepoint where ignited. The mixture `is then conveyed by pipe and branches s to the retorts F, whence, after subjection to the heat of said retort, it issues through the drill-holesf in` a gaseous form, at the point of ignition, within the combustion-chamber, and not in the form ot spray, thus securing perfect combustion, and avoiding all danger of accident by reason of the distribution of burning oil along the roadway.

The burning hydrocarbon gas, under pressure of the boiler, acts as a powerful steam and air blast, and is delivered with great force directly upon the snow or ice, at the `same time illing the combustion-chamber with an intensely heated confined mass` of llame, which also acts with great power upon an extended superficial area of snow-surface.

Thehighly-heated waste products ot' combustion pass o, at the rear end of the chamber T, by a pipe, Y, tothe lire-box of the boiler, andare there utilized for generating steam, thus greatly lessening the cost of `fuel for this purpose; or, it' preferred, they may be made to pass oli'` by an outlet through the lower edge ot' the rear wall, and thus aid in melting the snow and the ice. 1 i

lIn order to get rid of all noisearisin g from excess steam, or blowing o", I connect a pipe to the steam-space of the boiler, and` convey such surplus steam beneath the car, and discharge it4 ina divided condition, through one or more rose-heads, directly over the rails, of

a railway; or it may be discharged through a perforated pipe extending from side to side of the truck, and thus made to assist in melting the snow or ice. The melted snow, when desired, may be brushed away by an arrangement of revolving or stationary brooms upon the same or a separate truck.

Ido not limit myselfl to the preciserconstruction or arrangement of the devices above described, as it is manifest the same lmay be greatly varied and yet the principle of op"r ation remain the same. For instance, the chambered atomizer may have more than one nipple for the admission ot' oil, and lseveral air-inlets; or it may be varied in form without changing its action. So, too, more than one atomizer, retort, and combustion-chamber may be placed upon the same platform, one being arranged, if desired, at each end, so that two tires may be brought to act upon the` snow or ice at the` same time; or that theV machine may be drawn from either endwithoutturning around. Further, the retort may extend entirely across, the combustionchamber, instead of being in two sections, as shown in Fig. 3.

It will be observed that in this apparatus the hydrocarbon `is thoroughly vaporized by the force and heat of the steam, and mingled with air `before being brought to the point of combustion 5 and that the gaseous product or mixture is consumed by means of a 4burnerretort located in a combustion-chimbe'r, so that said retort, being constantly enveloped by a dame of intense` heat, will itselt'z be of such a temperature, as to convey a certain degree ot ixity to the gas, preventing condensation,and insuring results altogether differ. ent from those obtained by simply burning liquid hydrocarbons with steam in an open or exposed condition.

I claim- H l. The combination, with a portable machine for melting snow or ice, ot' an atomizer for liquid hydrocarbons for purposes of fuel, as herein set forth. 2. The combination, With a portable machine for melting snow or ice, of' aretort-burner, constructed and operating substantiallyas shown and specified. i

3. Inaportable snowor ice melting machine adapted for the employment ot' liquid `hydrocarbons as fuel, a bottomless combustion-cham. ber, T, constructed and operating substantially asshown and described. A '1 4 et. `In aportable machine for melting snow or ice, the combination, with the hydrocarbon combustion-chamber and boiler, of a pipe for conveying the waste products ot' the former to the latter, and utilizing the same for purposes of fuel, as set forth.

5. 1n a portable snow and ice melting machine, the combination, with the boiler B,voi` pipe Vaud rose-heads W, for getting rid of excess steam and utilizing the same, as 'set forth.

6. In combination with the retort-burner F, the pan G, substantially as shown and described.

7. The combination, in a portable snow or ice melting machine, of a hydrocarbon-atomizer, retort-burner, and combustion-chamber,

. with connecting pipes and flow regulating cocks, arranged to operate as set forth.

8. The combination, lin a portable machine for melting snow and ice, of a steam-generator, Water-tank, oil-receptacle, liquid-hyd rocarbon atomizer, retort-burner, and combustionchamber, with connecting-pipes and regulating-Valves, constructed and arranged for operation substantially as herein shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of M. DANI.. CoNNoLLY, CHAs. F. VAN HonN. 

